Innovating Learning with Canv-AI: A GenAI Solution for Canvas LMS

17

October

2024

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In today’s educational landscape, generative AI (GenAI) is reshaping how students and instructors interact with learning platforms. A promising example is Canv-AI, an AI-powered tool designed to integrate into the widely used Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). This tool aims to transform both student learning and faculty workload by leveraging advanced AI features to provide personalized, real-time support.

The integration of Canv-AI focuses on two primary groups: students and professors. For students, the key feature is a chatbot that can answer course-specific questions, provide personalized feedback, and generate practice quizzes or mock exams. These features are designed to enhance active learning, where students actively engage with course material, improving their understanding and retention. Instead of navigating dense course content alone, students have instant access to interactive support tailored to their learning needs.

Professors benefit from Canv-AI through a dashboard that tracks student performance and identifies areas where students struggle the most. This insight allows instructors to adjust their teaching strategies in real-time, offering targeted support without waiting for students to seek help. Additionally, the chatbot can help reduce the faculty workload by answering common questions about lecture notes or deadlines, allowing professors to focus more on core teaching tasks.

From a business perspective, Canv-AI aligns with Canvas’s existing subscription-based revenue model. It is offered as an add-on package, giving universities access to AI-driven tools for improving educational outcomes. The pricing strategy is competitive, with a projected $2,000 annual fee for universities already using Canvas. The integration also brings the potential for a significant return on investment, with an estimated 29.7% ROI after the first year. By attracting 15% of Canvas’s current university customers, Canv-AI is expected to generate over $700,000 in profit during its first year.

The technological backbone of Canv-AI relies on large language models (LLMs) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). These technologies allow the system to understand and respond to complex queries based on course materials, ensuring students receive relevant and accurate information. The system is designed to be scalable, using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to handle real-time AI interactions efficiently.

However, the integration of GenAI into educational systems does come with challenges. One concern is data security, especially the protection of student information. To address this, Canv-AI proposes the use of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), ensuring that sensitive data is only accessible to authorized users. Another challenge is AI accuracy. To avoid misinformation, Canv-AI offers options for professors to review and customize the chatbot’s responses, ensuring alignment with course content.

In conclusion, Canv-AI offers a transformative solution for Canvas LMS by enhancing the learning experience for students and reducing the workload for professors. By integrating GenAI, Canvas can stay competitive in the educational technology market, delivering personalized, data-driven learning solutions. With the right safeguards in place, Canv-AI represents a promising step forward for digital education.

Authors: Team 50

John Albin Bergström (563470jb)

Oryna Malchenko (592143om)

Yasin Elkattan (593972yk)

Daniel Fejes (605931fd)

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Why OpenAI’s Text-to-image Model Falls Short

10

October

2024

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Since OpenAI launched its text-to-image GenAI tool, DALL-E, I have been using it for quite a while. Initially, I was amazed by how accurate and impressive the tool is for creating an image based on a short prompt, accurately depicting what I had expected in my mind. However, after using it a bit more, I started to realise that DALL-E has its limitations and is not yet ready to completely replace graphic designers or artists. 


If you have been using DALL-E for a while, you have probably experienced it creating weird texts in the image. As shown below in image 1, (prompt: Create an image of a tree in autumn in the Dutch city Utrecht, there are some stores with storefront names in the background), the store names are inaccurate, while the image itself looks amazing and of high quality.

Image 1: Created by DALL-E

Why can DALL-E create amazing visual images, but can’t produce normal text on these images while this seems so easy?

This is due to several technical issues. While the model is effective at understanding and generating visual elements based on prompts, it often lacks the capabilities to distinguish between visual content and written content. This limitation is rooted in the training technique of the models, when text is rendered as part of the image it becomes a visual pattern instead of a linguistic one. OpenAI has said that the next version, DALL-E 4, will have better results in distinguishing linguistic vs visual elements.

Another important issue to address, is the biased results from DALL-E. When asking to create an image of a CEO at work with an assistant, see image 2 (prompt: Create an immage of a CEO at work with an assistant), it will show a image of a man as a CEO and a woman as an assistant. This is because the model is trained on data from databases, where CEO’s are often represented as a man instead of a woman. Leading to biased and discriminatory results, ultimately reinforcing outdated gender stereotypes. The same counts for culturally insensitive and inappropriate results, because the model is not adapted to the cultural awareness of humans.

Image 2: Created by DALL-E

To conclude, these are just two of DALL-E’s limitations, while there are many more that I haven’t discussed. It is clear that DALL-E is not perfect and needs to improve their model before it can replace graphic designers or artists. Nonetheless, the potential for the future is immense, and for now, it is incredibly fun to experiment with.

Thanks for reading, if you have an opinion about this topic, please leave a comment below.

(Disclaimer: this blog is written based on my personal experience)

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My Experience with DALL·E’s Creative Potential

21

October

2023

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I have tried Dall·E after reading so many posts about how it would revolutionize someone’s business and I was very disappointed.

Dall·E is a project developed by OpenAI, the same organization behind models like GPT-3 (ChatGPT). Dall·E in opposition to ChatGPT creates images from prompts that were given to it (OpenAI, n.d.). It uses deep learning technology such as Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). VAEs allow to represent complex data in a more compact form and the GANs are used to create as realistic images as possible by constantly creating fake images and putting them to the test by a discriminator that will discard the image if it deems it fake (Lawton, 2023; Blei et al., 2017). The business world and most of the LinkedIn posts I saw were idolizing such technology and explained how this could enhance humans in several ways. One way that was relevant to me was the creation of images, signs or pictograms that will enhance the potential of PowerPoint presentations.

After writing my thesis last year, I had to create a PowerPoint to present the main points of my thesis. I thought it would be a great way to start using Dall·E and tried creating my own visuals to have a clear representation of what my thesis entailed. After many tries, even with the best prompts I could write, even with the help of ChatGPT, none of the visuals that came out of it looked real or defined, it was just abstract art that represented nothing really. 

Reflecting on that experience, I thought that sometimes, the fascination people have for groundbreaking technology clouds its practical applications. I do not doubt that Dall·E can create great visuals and can be fun to play with, however, it does not always adapt seamlessly to specific creative needs. 

Ultimately, using Dall·E made me remember that we should always stay critical and manage expectations when it comes to groundbreaking emerging technology. It is appealing to listen to all the promises that come with disruptive technologies but sometimes we realize that no tool is one-size-fits-all.

References

Blei, D. M., Kucukelbir, A., & McAuliffe, J. D. (2017). Variational inference: A review for statisticians,  Journal of the American Statistical Association, 112 (518), pp. 859–877.

Lawton, G. (2023) ‘GANs vs. VAEs: What is the Best Generative AI Approach?’, Techtarget.
Retrieved from: https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/GANs-vs-VAEs-What-is-the-best-generative-AI-approach 

OpenAI. (n.d.). Dall·E 2. DALL·E 2. https://openai.com/dall-e-2/

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